About Counselling and Psychotherapy

What is counselling and psychotherapy?

Counselling offers a safe and supportive environment, where you
can talk over any difficult issues and explore the areas of your life you would
like to change. This may take a few weeks, or may involve longer term therapy.

Counselling can help you to understand yourself and your
relationships with those around you better. It can assist you to make informed
choices or decisions, come to terms with your situation or find better ways of
coping.

Psychotherapy is a more open-ended process which focuses on your
past and how it connects to current issues at a deeper level than counselling.

Cognitive behavioural therapy is a more structured type of
therapy which focuses on specific problems or behaviour you would like to
change in the present. It involves testing out new ways of responding to
situations outside of sessions.

Why talk to a counsellor?

There are times when all of us find it difficult to cope. When
things are not going well, we may not know what to do. Often we can turn to
family and friends, but there are times when this is not possible. Sometimes
they may not be the best ones to help you.

A counsellor is skilled in guiding you to gain a greater
understanding of your life and will not judge you, be shocked by what you have
to say, or impose solutions
on you.

What sorts of issues does counselling deal with?

Anything which is troubling you can be a focus for counselling.
Among other things, counselling can help you cope with: Bereavement and
loss; Cultural issues; Depression; Family issues; Stress; Low self-esteem;
Relationships; Sexuality; Alcohol/drug problems; Work related issues; Life
transitions, e.g. redundancy